You know, given the whole stealthy element of Thief-like immersive sims, I’m surprised there haven’t been more of them with horror elements. There’s Gloomwood, sure, but it’s not as common as I’d like. That in turn then makes me curious about The Citadel Project, an immersive sim with some survival-horror elements set in a nasty, parasite-infected dark fantasy world, all apparently made by just one person.
In The Citadel Project, “the last line of defense built by the Ancient Kings in an attempt to preserve what remains of humanity in the face of the Great Storm.” Some kind of evil force is ruining it from the inside, and you have to make your way through a medieval megastructure to figure out what happened. You aren’t anyone special, “just a simple prisoner who manages to escape from a cell deep within the Citadel.” Truthfully, the story sounds fine enough, I’m more smitten with the vibes put on display.
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The shadows are what sells me, for the most part. They’re dark and moody, looking plenty ripe for hiding in. And look, if you hand me a megastructure to explore, I’m going to do so. I’m also a fan of your main weapon, a crossbow. Not enough games with crossbows if you ask me! There’s all sorts of bolts you can use with it, like a fire bolt that, obviously, sets things or enemies alight, a rope bolt to help you quickly climb or swing out of danger, a decoy bolt that makes a lot of sound to distract with, or a moss bolt; I’m not sure what that one does, my guess would be to dampen your footsteps and make it easier to sneak up on unsuspecting baddies.
Said baddies also appear to be infected with some kind of parasite, the severing of which appears to come in handy when trying to take them down. Overall, The Citadel Project likes a neat little im sim with just enough going on to make me curious to explore further. Which I might do, when I get the chance, as there is a demo available on Steam. Alternatively, I could just wait a week, as the game is out in early access November 11th, just over a week away. You can wishlist it on Steam right here.
